'He is a deserving winner'

Westwood, who had been seeking his maiden major title and Britain's first since Paul Lawrie won the 1999 British Open, finished in second after carding a 71.

American Anthony Kim closed with a sparkling 65 to finish third at 12 under, a stroke in front of World No1 Woods and KJ Choi of South Korea, who returned matching 69s.

"I am a little bit disappointed because I came so close to winning the tournament," said Westwood, who had tied for third in his two previous majors and trailed Mickelson by one at the turn. "I didn't get off to a fast enough start today.

"Phil hit some good shots around Amen Corner and they are not easy shots that he has pulled off there so he is a deserving winner."

Mickelson wraps up title with back-to-back birdies

Mickelson, who won his first two Masters crowns in 2004 and 2006, effectively wrapped up the title with back-to-back birdies from the par-three 12th, where he rolled in a curling 14-footer.

He narrowly missed an eagle from just three feet at the par-five 13th, after hitting a stunning blow with a six-iron from 207 yards through a four-foot gap between two pine trees, before holing out from a similar distance coming back.

That put him two strokes clear before he picked up another shot at the par-five 15th, where he reached the green in two and two-putted, to tighten his grip on a third Green Jacket.

"When I get here to Augusta, I get very relaxed and feel very comfortable," said Mickelson, whose fourth major title puts him one ahead of Ernie Els, Vijay Singh and Padraig Harrington and behind only Woods in the modern era.

Roller-coaster day for Woods

Kim began another calm, sunny day at Augusta seven strokes off the pace but he surged into contention with a sizzling birdie-birdie-eagle-birdie run from the 13th.

Choi, aiming to become only the second Asian male to win a major after compatriot at Yang Yong-eun last year's PGA Championship, briefly joined Mickelson in a share of the lead before slipping back with bogeys on 13 and 14.

Four-times champion Woods, playing his first event in nearly five months following startling revelations at the end of last year about his serial philandering, endured a roller-coaster day.

'Finishing fourth is not what I wanted'

He started out poorly with three bogeys in the first five holes before holing out from the fairway to eagle the seventh and then recording birdies at eight and nine.

After mixing bogeys at the 11th and 14th with a birdie at the 13th, he collected another eagle when he coaxed in a 15-footer at the par-five 15th before signing off with a six-foot birdie putt at the last.

"I finished fourth, not what I wanted," said Woods, who came under intense scrutiny from the fans and media all week. "I wanted to win this tournament.

"As the week went on, I kept hitting the ball worse."

Asked when he was likely to return to the PGA Tour, he replied: "I'm going to take a little time off and kind of re-evaluate things."

Image: Tiger Woods acknowledges the crowd after finishing his final round of play